ard

Twinkle, twinkle, little plot! How | wonder where you’ve got!
Despite Burton’s best efforts, Alice in Wonderland isn’t anything special

 

By Angela Espinoza

or much of the new
millennium, Disney has
come under fire for their

inconsistency in producing

any decent work without Pixar
intervening. Occasionally, critically
acclaimed films like Enchanted,
Bolt, and The Princess and the Frog
(all released within three years time,
I might add) dig their way through

after a previous attack by the Red
Queen, so we’re not getting the
same Wonderland many of us

grew up with in the original 1951
Disney film, also called Alice in
Wonderland. While both are similar
in that they are semi-hybrids of the
books, the essential feel of each film
is extremely different. For one, the
1951 animated film was originally
a critical and financial bomb until it
was successfully re-released nearly

“Alice falls not into the rabbit hole, but into mediocrity
in terms of story development.”

the rubble, and while it pains me to
say this, Alice in Wonderland is not
one of those films.

Very rarely do over-hyped
films meet the expectations of
moviegoers, but the blame is
usually easy to point out, e.g. crude
editing, god-awful acting. In this
case, the primary flaw is that Alice
falls not into the rabbit hole, but
into mediocrity in terms of story
development. The big mistake
here was that the plot was literally
explained near the start of the film:
Alice must return to Wonderland to
slay the Jabberwocky. From there
on out, the viewer must simply wait
for just that to happen, placing itself
into the unfortunate category known
as “two hours of nothing.”

Now just to be clear, this
is not the kind of movie people
should avoid. What the film
lacks in development is made up
in essentially fantastic writing,
beautiful costume design, and
absolutely perfect casting. Let’s
not forget that this is a Tim
Burton-directed feature, so while
unfortunately it has resorted to CGI,
the visuals are quite stunning.

With apologies to die-hard
fans of Carroll’s work, I’ve never
actually read Alice’s Adventures
in Wonderland or Through the
Looking-Glass, so I’m not sure how
the original story goes. I say this
because in the film, Wonderland,
now called Underland, is in ruins

6

twenty years later—in the midst of
the drug culture movement. This
new version, which Burton claims is
neither sequel nor remake, features
a charismatic wit missing from
many modern family films; in other
words, parents will be bringing
their children to a film that, in a

rare feat, opens their minds to a
world of adventure, intelligence,
and for god’s sakes, imagination!
Best of all, it introduces young girls
everywhere to a strong, independent
female protagonist (played by

Mia Wasikowska), who is neither
princess nor a man-lusting empty
shell looking for fame.

For those wondering, no,

Depp thankfully does not reprise
his performance from Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory. Although
there is one ugly moment near the
end where I had to question how
heavily Disney intervened with
Burton/Depp’s characterization of
the Hatter. I won’t spoil the scene,
although it left the entire audience
momentarily silent and feeling
awkward.

This is not a perfect film by any
means. It starts out strong, meets
with a mediocre climax, but finishes
with a solid ending. Nevertheless,

I advice you all to see this film,
and anyone with younger family
members, please, by every means,
take them to see this movie! You
won’t regret it, and in the long run
they may even thank you for it.